Mists Schedule FAQ
#1
Mok'ra, Tribe!

I've been fielding a number of questions about our guild plans for Mists of Pandaria, so I jotted some answers down here in an FAQ.

There are exciting days ahead!

- Zlinka

Mists of Pandaria Schedule

a. How long will we run the 10-man Dragon Soul raid?
b. Do I need to level a particular class for the Mists raid? Can I level my Pandaren first? Do I need to rush to level 90?
c. What will guild play look like in Mists?
d. When will we start progression (normal mode) raiding in Mists?
e. What day and time will the Mists raids run?
f. How big will the Mists raids be?
g. When can I find out more specifics about the roster and start date?

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a. How long will we run the 10-man Dragon Soul raid?

We will raid Dragon Soul until Mists of Pandaria hits on September 25. We may stop sooner, on August 28, when the content and mechanics patch hits -- we will play this by ear.

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b. Do I need to level a particular class for Mists? Can I level my Pandaren first? Do I need to rush to level 90?

We want everyone to enjoy the new expansion to the fullest. Do not feel rushed or like you have to level a particular class, or neglect your Pandaren. The leveling phase of an expansion is a fun time, and it only happens once every few years, so have a good time! Don't rush though! Take the time to explore the new zones, follow the new quests, have fun with your new characters, and play with friends and guildmates in the new scenarios, challenge modes etc.

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c. What will guild play look like in Mists?

We will probably start small-group guild runs right away. Not only do we have new quests and zones to explore together, and new Pandaren to level up, but we have new game dynamics which support different kinds of group play. Scenarios are new 3-man instanced adventures for any combination of classes. Challenge modes are new timed 5-man instance runs with normalized gear. There will be *three* LFR raids. While we don't currently have an Ironsong Arena team, if you are interested, feel free to organize one!

Everyone should grab their guildmates and jump into the normal and heroic 5-mans. As we get a critical mass of players at 90, we will organize one or two evenings of LFR raiding.

LFR nights will be our best time to play all together, chatting in vent as we overcome challenges, share strategies, and win loot! I strongly encourage everybody to gear up and come out for these nights. They are the most inclusive raiding experience we have available -- please join us!

We will also run a progression raid. This is a tougher, rostered raid that tackles normal and eventually heroic-mode content. Completing this content requires class balancing, learned teamwork, and a commitment to attend the majority of the raids, so we will use a regulars-and-alternates list to fill it.

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d. When will we start progression (normal mode) raiding in Mists?

Once players are at max level and sufficiently geared to tackle it. We really want people to be able to enjoy the leveling phase without feeling pressure to rush to max level and grind for gear right away. If you hit the level cap and are hungry for raiding, hit the LFRs hard and gear up.

We will therefore be flexible about a start date for the new Mists raid. To give you a *ballpark* estimate, in my experience from previous expansions, it will take 1-2 months for everyone to enjoy their new characters and get a character up to raiding level. So that would put our start date some time in late October or November, but again, we will play this very much by ear, basing our decision on how our members are doing and what they want.

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e. What day and time will the Mists raids run?

We will probably start the LFR raid on Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9:30 server time, and perhaps a second night of LFR raiding on Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:30 as needed.

After running the LFRs for a while to get geared up, we will start up the progression raid on Thursdays from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. server time, occasionally running to 10:30 if we're really on fire. By later in the expansion cycle -- several months in -- we may convert the Tuesday LFR night to a progression night as needed.

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f. How big will the Mists normal mode raid be?

We are currently planning to run a 10-man raid in Mists as we did in Cataclysm. However, if we have a lot of interest, we will run a 25-man raid, or perhaps two 10-mans.

To give you an idea of the numbers required, for a successful 10 man raid we need at least 13 people (10 regulars and 3 alternates). For a 25 man we'd need about 30 people (25 regulars and 5 alternates), for two 10-mans we'd need about 26 people (in two balanced 10 mans with 6 alternates).

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g. When can I find out more specifics about the roster and start date?

In the weeks after Mists comes out. Our plans are in flux right now because we have a number of returning members, as well as current members whose RL schedules are changing as they start school, new jobs etc. So we won't be making firm plans until things settle down and we get a better idea of how many interested people we have available going forward into Mists.

I will post more details about how we plan to run the raid in the days to come. ((Edit: Here is our Normal Mode Raiding FAQ with further details about how we plan to run the raid.))

So stay tuned!
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#2
Slight correction to your answer #1: Release for Mists is scheduled for 25 September.
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#3
Ah, thank you for the correction! I have changed the date in the original post.

-Zlinka
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#4
Zloryx: here's a great article and it totally reminded me of this post (mostly because it seems like you've already considered some of this.)

http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/08/27/office...-in-mists/

All apologies if this was a horrible place to post it, but I didn't want to send a pm.
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#5
Thanks, Sevdrith!
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